Of Fairytales and Frogs
by maramouse
Summary: Naveen tells the story of the Princess and the Frog to his young daughter, but changes a few details on the way.


A/N: I actually haven't written a fanfiction in almost 3 years, but after seeing _The Princess and the Frog_, I couldn't resist. Words cannot even express how much I looooove it! Ijust hope I've done the characters justice. Let me know if there are any typos!

On another note, we're vacationing in Las Vegas, and I begged my parents to take me to a New Orleans restaurant, where I had gumbo and my first beignets. OH. MY. GOD. I feel like a good fan now, because beignets are amaaaaaaaazing, and I was nearly crying when I was finished!

*******

It was a cold winter day in New Orleans, the kind of day folks used as an excuse to hop on over to Tiana's Palace and stuff themselves with gumbo and beignets. All over New Orleans, horns blew out the jazz music the city was known for.

In a small house not too far away from the most popular restaurant in New Orleans, one small girl determinedly searched by the light of the evening stars, looking through a box of her mother's old things.

Her grandmother had brought over the box not long ago. Evangela's mother had rolled her eyes when she had seen it, still a bit embarrassed by her mother's determination to poke her way into the rearing of her only grandbaby, but Evangela had been thrilled. She had heard so many stories of her mother's childhood that she could not wait to see her mother's old things with her very own eyes.

She reached into the box to pull out a book. In bolded letters the cover read, _The Frog Prince_.

Now, Evangela loved fairytales. As the daughter of the crown prince of Maldonia, it was wonderful to hear about princesses just like herself. There was nothing better than curling up on a cozy night, listening to her parents read fairytales aloud. Yet somehow, Evangela had never heard this particular story before. Her heart speeding up with excitement at getting the chance to hear one of her mother's favorite stories, Evangela rushed downstairs to the living room, where her father lay asleep on a couch.

"DADDY!" she cried, shaking him awake. "Wake up!"

Her father sat up, alert, at the sight of his daughter's huge brown eyes. He muttered something inaudible in Maldonian as he stretched. "What are you doing waking me up, my princesca? I told you that your daddy needs his rest after working long shifts."

"You were barely working," Evangela said, giggling. "Mama said mincing and playing around with Louis is nothing when she's busy waitin' on every table and making all the food. That's the reason she sent us home, remember? She said if you couldn't make yourself useful, there was no point having you around."

"I seem to remember me kindly offering to take you home so you could have a good night's sleep."

Seeing how much Evangela's stern gaze resembled her mother's, her father gave in. "Oh, all right. Perhaps your mother did suggest that it was best that I head on home, but none of that diminishes how handsome and charming she finds me. Now, tell me what important event arose that required you to wake me up. Does my princesca need her daddy's help capturing a spider again?"

"I want you to read to me," Evangela said, shoving the book under her father's nose.

Her father examined the book. His forehead began to crinkle. "This is your mother's book, no?"

Evangela nodded. "I found it in the box Grandma brought over. Could you start now? I've never heard anything like it. Why would a prince be a frog?"

Her father closed the book, shaking his head. "My princesca should know that fairytales often-how shall I put it?-omit certain details of the truth."

"Mama's told me not to get ideas from fairytales-that the only way people can make themselves useful is to work for what they want, not sit around in a castle gettin' waited on like you did at my age-"

"Non, non, ma cherie, that is not what your father meant at all! But it just so happens that there is another, truer version of _the Frog Prince _that my princesca deserves to hear-one that is set in our very own town and bayou of New Orleans."

"This isn't another one of your silly stories about you savin' Mama from a life without any fun or love in it?"

"Not at all, my princesca. As a matter of fact, this is the story of all stories-the story that tells just how your mother and I got married in the first place."

Although Evangela still was not sure whether she could trust him, she decided to give her father a chance.

"Once upon a time, in a beautiful country called Maldonia, there lived a handsome young prince who dreamed of New Orleans, the home of a beautiful music called jazz. Being an excellent dancer and musician himself, the young prince longed to visit New Orleans himself. But aside from recreation, the prince had another purpose in mind. Due to an unfortunate scapegoating by his parents, the prince had lost his entire inheritance."

"I thought Mama said they disinherited you because you were being a lazy leech."

"Ah ha, I am interrupted! Tell me, ma cherie, is it you who is telling the story or is it I?" He grinned at the silence that followed. "I thought so. It is not Evangela who is telling the story, but the wonderful Naveen.

"Accompanied by his cruel and heartless servant, Lawrence, the handsome young prince made his way to New Orleans. Upon reaching the city, he was hit by its beauty immediately. Women swooned and fainted as soon as they came within ten feet of the prince, and he had a grand time dancing and enjoying the flavor of the New Orleans culture.

"Alas, the prince's fun was not to last for long! Due to the unfortunate disinheriting by his parents that took place in the part of my story my princesca found suitable to interrupt, the prince was forced to make his own living or to settle down and marry a rich bride so he could continue his rich lifestyle. The bride candidate was none other than your very own godmother, Miss Charlotte La Bouff, and her fortune from her daddy's successful sugar mill."

"You almost married Aunt Lotte?" Evangela's eyes grew wide, hardly daring to believe that her mother could have been none other than the spoiled, bumbling Charlotte La Bouff. Her father only smiled.

"As soon as the prince made his way to the La Bouff's masquerade ball, he sought out Charlotte. But fate could not be kind to this poor prince! New Orleans' voodoo magician, the Shadow Man, envied the great riches and power the prince would gain from marrying Miss Charlotte and worked his voodoo magic to transform Lawrence into the prince, who had agreed to share the money with him. In order to conceal Lawrence's true identity, the poor prince was turned into a frog."

Evangela burst out giggling. "A frog? One of them slimy, green things?"

Her father put his hand to his heart in mock horror. "Oh, but the princesca does not know the most important fact of all! For it is not slime that covers the frog; it is mucus!

"The woe that fell over the poor prince! What was he to do as a frog? He could not dance, could not play jazz; he could not even woo young ladies! Upon pondering this on Miss Charlotte's balcony, the prince found himself accompanied by a beautiful young lady. She was wearing a glimmering blue dress, a crown adorned on her head.

"It hit the prince, clear as day! His childhood favorite of _the Fraggi Proto _came whirling into his mind. For, the solution was simple; he would simply get the princess to kiss him, and he would be transformed! Needless to say, the princess was unable to resist the prince's charms, and a kiss followed soon after."

"So, you became human again and lived happily ever after?"

"Have you no faith in the predictability of my story at all? No! The prince was still a frog! He was still as green as ever, and what is more, the young lady who was so beautiful was also transformed into a frog! As it turned out she was not even a princess at all, but a simple waitress dressed up as one. There! Is this not a better story than the one in your fairytale book?

"After escaping from the masquerade ball, the waitress and prince found themselves in the bayou. The prince was just showering her with his incomparable charm, when alas! A group of alligators saw the two frogs and decided it was time for a froggy dessert!

"The prince was smart and hopped into a tree trunk as soon as he saw them, but the poor waitress was not as skilled as he. Up she hopped, but the alligators' snouts loomed ever closer. Although he was angry that the waitress had lied about being a princess, the prince's unrelenting good heart got the better of him. He reached out his webbed hand and pulled up the waitress, saving her just in time from being an alligator's dessert.

"In time, the two frogs met the trumpet playing alligator, Louis, and the Cajun firefly, Ray, who told them about the bayou's voodoo master, Mama Odie. Though Ray, Louis, and the waitress were confused about where Mama Odie was located, the prince led them all with his innate sense of direction."

"So then you and Mama fell in love and lived happily-ever-after?

Her father looked over Evangela with pride. "But you have deceived me! I thought you had no idea of this story's outcome. Can it be that my very own daughter can tell the future after all?"

"I can do no such thing! Your story's just-how do you say it?-_predictable_, that's all. I knew you were gonna fall in love with Mama as soon as you said she was a beautiful waitress." She took a moment to bask in this moment of pride. It was very rare that Evangela was able to get her father to admit he was wrong. Normally, he still insisted that he was right, even after her mother corrected him.

"So, what happened to you and Mama, anyway?" Evangela asked. "Did Mama Odie turn you back human?"

"It was Mama Odie who suggested that the only way to reverse the spell was just as the stories suggest; to kiss a princess. Miss Charlotte's father had been crowned king of Mardi Gras for the fifth year in a row, which in turn made Miss Charlotte a princess and the ideal person to break the spell. There was a bit of a mishap with the Shadow Man that followed, leading to Ray's unfortunate demise and his descent to his true love, your namesake, but the prince had no trouble fighting off the Shadow Man and Lawrence, and they were defeated.

"The prince was at his wit's end! He loved his waitress, but how was he ever to buy her the restaurant she deserved when he, himself, was penniless? He was just moments away from agreeing to marry Miss Charlotte if she kissed him and agreed to help buy the waitress her restaurant, when the waitress emerged from the shadows. She finally confessed her love and admitted that she too was unable to resist the prince's froggy charms. Words could not express how happy the prince was! Miss Charlotte was so overcome by the true love blossoming before her own eyes that she agreed to kiss the prince without any marriage requirement. But just before Miss Charlotte lifted up the prince to kiss him, the clock struck midnight. Just like Cinderella's spell was broken when the clock ticked midnight, Miss Charlotte was not considered a princess any more after the strike of the clock. Kissing the prince had done no good. Both he and the waitress were still as froggy as ever.

"Though heartbroken, the prince and waitress agreed they would have to live out their lives as frogs, and they were comforted by the fact that they would still be together. They invited Louis and all of Ray's firefly friends to their froggy wedding. After Mama Odie pronounced them frog and wife, they lost themselves in a wonderful kiss. So caught up in the kiss were they that they did not notice they had been transformed back into humans. The waitress had become a princess by marrying the prince, which was able to reverse the spell.

"Both were officially married again as humans, and the waitress's restaurant soon became the best in all of New Orleans. A few years later, their little girl was born. And just like in the old fairytales, the prince's charm ensured that they all lived happily-ever-after."

Evangela took a long time to consider this story. Growing impatient, her father's proud smile formed into a pout. "Is it a beautiful story, is it not?"

"It'd be more beautiful if it really happened."

For the first time, her father actually did look put-out. "You do not believe me? But there is so much evidence to the contrary! How do you think we met Louis, Ray, or decided on your name to begin with? Answer me that, princesca. There is too much evidence to the contrary!"

Capitalizing on Evangela's hesitation as she considered this, her father began to tickle her. Evangela shrieked and shrieked, but her father was unrelenting. Try as she might, she was unable to break free so she could tickle him back.

"What's all this racket?"

Evangela and her father stopped mid-tickle to see her mother standing in the doorway, still wearing an apron. Her arms were crossed.

"Evangela, what are you doing up so late? Naveen, I thought I entrusted you to take care of her."

Her father jumped up, his concern replaced with a confident smirk. "Ah, Tiana! I did not realize you would be coming back so soon. I'll put Evangela to bed and then we can be alone, no?"

Her mother shrugged off her husband's arm from where it had been positioned around her shoulders. She glared at him. "Naveen, you still haven't answered my question. What is our daughter doing up so late?"

"Well-" the two began at the same time, but they were interrupted as Evangela's mother caught glimpse of _The Frog Prince_. As she picked it up, her mood lifted. A smile appeared on her face.

"You don't have to answer that. I have a pretty good idea I know where things were headed tonight. So, Evangela. What do you think of your daddy after hearing the story?"

"I think he's a big liar."

"But you do not understand, Evangela!" her father exclaimed. "It is true! All of it! See!" He jammed a thumb at the book. "Now, I have your mother to vouch for it. We really were frogs. Explain it to her, Tiana, as she clearly does not believe me."

Before her mother could open her mouth, Evangela shook her head. "It's not the frog part I care about. It's the person you made yourself out to be! Mama wouldn't have needed your help gettin' away from alligators or findin' Mama Odie's. I doubt she'd even have wanted to give you a kiss in the first place!"

Her father began to slink back as her mother met his gaze. A familiar venomous gleam had filled her eyes. "It isn't my fault!" her father sputtered, as her mother began to approach him. "I was merely taking some creative liberties with the stories! Some-what is it you say?-poetic licenses, sort of speak! Can I no longer embellish stories or must I hold completely true to each fact?"

"I think that no longer embellishing stories might do you a lot of good," said her mother. "What do you say, Evangela?"

Evangela's eyes sparkled. "I think Daddy shouldn't be allowed to kiss you until he confesses. That might teach him good, if anything would."

This was simply too much for the former lady's man to bear. "Oh, all right!" said her father, breaking under the looks he was being thrown. "I apologize! Tiana saved me from the alligators, Ray and the other fireflies helped us get to Mama Odie's, and it was my own foolishness that made us frogs in the first place. Are you happy now?"

"You forgot the part about me being disgusted by your froggyness and having trouble mustering up the strength to kiss you in the first place."

Her father frowned. "I do not seem to remember that part very well. Perhaps you could refresh me?"

He leaned forward for a kiss, but his wife responded by pretending to slap him across the face. Evangela took this opportunity to tickle him. Placing a couch pillow in front of him, her father attempted to shield himself from the prodding fingers creeping up all over him. "Ah! I am joking! Do neither of you have a sense of humor? I fully admit I was not as handsome a frog as I am as a human, and your mother might have been a tiny bit surprised when I asked her for a kiss. Do you forgive me now?"

"I don't know," said Evangela's mother, with a smirk at her daughter. "Should we forgive him, Evangela?"

Evangela did not have to think twice. She responded by continuing to tickle her father, who laughed all the harder.

Way up in the sky, two glimmering stars glistened. Evangeline and Ray held hands, watching the love of the perfect little family down below.


End file.
